Surface Studio Is the Slickest Desktop Computer You've Ever Seen

Turns out Microsoft has a few more things to show us before 2016 is out. New Windows software and hardware, including a new all-in-one Surface PC, was announced on stage during a press event in New York City this morning. Microsoft's executive vice president Terry Myerson took the stage to kick off the event, stressing that we are all the "creators of our digital lives" and filling his opener with starry-eyed things Microsoft tech can do for people.

Windows 10 Updates

Myerson then revealed Windows 10 Creators Update. It seemed immediately apparent that Microsoft wants to upgrade its VR, AR, and 3D capabilities. Microsoft even boldly stated that the next generation will create naturally in 3D and that "3D is for everyone."

Here's what that actually means. Microsoft has created a mobile app to digitally recreate physical 3D objects, but even Paint—yes, that Paint—is getting a third-dimension upgrade. We've already heard a little bit about 3D Paint, but essentially, the application can now take 2D photos and create what Microsoft calls a "3D memory" along with the ability to export to social media sites like Facebook.

For the Minecraft fans out there, Microsoft now allows for easy export of your in-game creations, as well as 3D print files if you want to bring those digital creations into real life. Overall, it seems like Microsoft has transformed its Paint application into a full-fledged 3D printing app, which is smart if not terribly exciting.

Microsoft's demo of other new 3D abilities also includes an integrated Edge browser into its augmented reality headset Hololens, like so:

Microsoft also demoed ways to decorate your home with 3D models before making a purchase with Hololens.

And to make use of all these new 3D abilities, Microsoft's hardware partners like Lenovo, Dell, HP, and ASUS will be making 3D headsets. The cool thing is that the headsets have an impressive range of motion and will only cost $300, which is pretty good for a high-quality headset. But we'll need to see if traditional PC makers can take on the headset rivals of Oculus, Valve, or PlayStation.

Sticking with Windows 10, Microsoft mentioned some new gaming abilities, mostly focused on how to make game broadcasting more easy. Much like its philosophy with 3D creation, Microsoft's baked in its Beam broadcast technology into Windows 10, which makes being a game broadcaster more of a point-and-click affair.

Then we finally got to the gadgets everyone's been waiting for. Here they are:

An All-New, All-Better Surface Book

Gadget head honcho Panos Panay's first device is an upgraded Surface Book with twice the power, a redesigned cooling system to handle that power, the Core i7 processor from Intel, and 30 percent more battery. Now the Surface Book can get upwards of 16 hours of battery life, and Panay confidently calls it "the ultimate laptop." It's available for pre-order and will be up for purchase in November starting at $1,500.

Surface Studio

"We built it for creators and professionals," Panay said. "It's going to help you create…and transform the way you create and think about creating."

At its most basic, the Surface Studio is a PC that's super-futuristic. It's the thinnest LCD desktop monitor ever created at 12.5mm and it stands at 28 inches across. It pushes upwards of 13.5 million pixels, comes with all the ports you'd ever need, and includes another interesting piece of hardware called the Surface Dial (more on that in a moment).

Panos spent lots of time stressing the importance of accurate color capture with True Color technology, so that what you see onscreen is what you get in real life. And as you'd expect, this thing is one powerful beast. It has an NVIDIA GeForce 980M GPU with a quad-core Core i7 processor, a 2-terabyte hard drive, 32GB of RAM, and 2.1 surround sound speakers. There's also a linear microphone so you can use Cortana (of course), and it all fits inside that one tiny, little box in front of the display.

So, other than being one of the most powerful PCs out there, what makes it so great? It can bend into a drawing desk. Like so:

Since it is essentially a writing desk, the Studio obviously works with the Surface Pen and has palm rejection so it's just like writing on paper, according to Microsoft.

Surface Dial

The Surface Dial might be the most interesting little gadget Microsoft has shown off in quite a while. This puck-shaped devices actually works on the Studio's screen. Panay says it was made to help people create even faster. Here's the Dial in action:

The physical dial has a digital counterpart on the screen, which is then manipulated by the Dial itself. Microsoft demoed the Dial in more everyday applications like Microsoft Word and also with a comic book artist to show how the Dial can help zoom in on details and also cycle through color palettes (as shown above).

You can pre-order the Surface Studio today. As you'd expect, it comes with a huge price tag at $3,000. It will be in limited quantity for the holidays, so if you're interested, don't wait around too long.

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